Spring is in the Air on the Yard!

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Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends,

With warmer weather and COVID-19 vaccines being administered to most midshipmen, faculty and staff, it is an exciting time to be in the Yard! Commissioning Week and Plebe Summer are right around the corner and we are looking forward to “what’s next” here in Annapolis. The future is bright and while we expect things to continue to look a bit different, it is hard not to get excited about the gradual return to traditional in-person academics, athletics and alumni events.

Now, a few highlights from the spring semester:

  • Janie Mines ’80, the first Black female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and MIDN 1/C Sydney Barber, the first Black female Brigade Commander of the U.S. Naval Academy, reflected on their shared experiences as trailblazers for Women’s History Month.
  • The Naval Academy team recently won the 2021 NSA Cyber Exercise (NCX), which was held virtually. Midshipmen competed against more than 200 men and women from other service academies and NSA’s development programs.
  • Midshipmen hosted the first virtual Naval Academy Leadership Conference, with a theme of Stronger Together, Cultivating a Winning Culture.
  • The 61st Annual Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference was hosted virtually, and guest speakers like Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke to the theme of Global Resilience after the Pandemic.
  • Navy Athletics is back in competition! The Navy Football Schedule is also out with an exciting slate of games, including Army vs. Navy in metro New York City this December. If you plan to take advantage of benefits (e.g. Akerson Tower tickets, Admiral’s Row parking and Yeager Pavilion Hospitality) through the Fund for Athletic Excellence for the upcoming football season, please remember those gifts must be received by 30 June.
  • We caught up with members of the 1985-86 Navy Men’s Basketball team as part of the 35th anniversary of their historic run to the Elite Eight!! You can see our upcoming virtual events and access recordings of our previous discussions here.

Last year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, over the course of just five days nearly 6,000 alumni joined together to show their support during the 2020 All Academy Challenge, shattering all prior participation records and raising almost $1.2 million. The All Academy Challenge returns for the eighth consecutive year 16-20 May 2021. If you’ve participated in the Challenge before, we’re calling on you to renew your support! If you haven’t, now is the time to join in the effort to help your class and the Academy, and to ensure we BEAT ARMY!

While these are just a few of the many remarkable stories of success happening throughout your Naval Academy community, we invite you to stay connected with us on FacebookInstagramTwitter and LinkedIn for future updates. As always, thank you for your continued generosity supporting numerous programs across the Yard. We look forward to seeing you when we return to traveling and welcoming you back to the Yard in the coming months.

GO NAVY!!

P.S. – Register for the latest edition of the Alumni Association and Foundation’s C Suite virtual event series here.

Four Naval Academy alumni executives in industries particularly affected by the pandemic are coming together for a virtual discussion on how they and their organizations have faced the challenges of the past year, learned from them and seized new opportunities. 


Sincerely,

John Rudder ’78
Vice President, Development
Office: 410-295-4189 | Mobile: 443-538-2020
John.rudder@usna.com

Mike Hoffman
Director of Development
Office: 410-295-4184 | Mobile: 443-798-5644
Mike.hoffman@usna.com